1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to charging of electric vehicles, and more particularly to an infrastructure for smart charging of electric vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Electric Vehicles (EV) are becoming a preferred choice for many individuals, particularly as the world looks toward lowering its dependence on fossil fuels. As the number of EVs on the road increase, charging stations in both parking structures and home garages will become more important for longer distance commuters. An available charging station may be a critical requirement to ensure the ability to finish the round trip and be able to arrive back home.
Presently available commercial EV charging stations, such as from manufacturers Coulomb® and Blink®, have their own proprietary networks to connect the charging stations in service. Coulomb provides a ChargePoint® application programming interface (API) and an OpenCharge™ protocol for the developers. Their present application uses their network to locate available charging stations for its users. Other commercial charging stations, such as Leviton and Clippercreek, simply provide basic charging stations without any network features.
When Electric Vehicles (EVs) are charged utilizing these conventional charging systems, the only option is to charge at a selected current or not to charge. However, these limited charging options can pose problems for the power grid, in particular as EVs become more widely adopted and numerous EVs may be charging in a given area.
Accordingly, a need exists for a smart charging infrastructure. The present invention fulfills that needs and others in an advanced EV charging system.